Three great warm winter sandwiches

Cold weather provides a good excuse to rethink that most versatile of meals, the sandwich. At this time of year I like to serve them hot, stacked with ingredients to suit the season. Try roast vegetables, any cured meat, cheese or slow-roasted pork. To top it off, add your choice of pickles and chutneys, aioli and mayonnaise. Here are three of my favourite recipes at the moment. The mushroom burger is inspired by a similarly delicious dish at Melbourne's Market Lane cafe. The chicken souvlaki is a classic combination of juicy chicken with garlicky yoghurt sauce whipped with feta on soft home-made pita. Or try my indulgent steak sandwich with thinly sliced steak and caramelised onions on toasty sourdough. Oh, and for good measure, a side serve of crunchy, spicy onion rings. Scroll down for recipes and tuck in!

Mushroom Burgers with Haloumi

Serves 4

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, softened

2 tbsp finely chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, basil, oregano)

1 anchovy fillet (optional)

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tsp curry powder

1 lemon

4 large portobello mushrooms

Sea salt and black pepper

1 cup good-quality mayonnaise

1 tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce*

4 slices haloumi

Plain flour for dusting

Fennel pickles to serve**

4 large crunchy burger buns, toasted on cut sides

Method

■Mix butter with herbs, anchovy, garlic, curry powder and a squeeze of lemon juice to make a spreadable consistency.

■Heat a grill pan or barbecue until hot, brush mushrooms with herb butter, season and grill for 5 minutes on each side, or until well cooked. Brush liberally with herb butter

while cooking.

■Meanwhile, mix mayonnaise with chipotle sauce and set aside.

■Dust haloumi with flour, cook on the grill on both sides until golden and place on top of mushroom.

■Squeeze over some lemon juice and dollop with spicy mayonnaise. Add pickles and serve on toasted buns immediately.

* Chipotle in adobo are spicy Mexican-style chillies sold in tins at selected supermarkets and specialty stores.

** Fennel pickles are sold at selected food stores, or substitute any pickles.

Fried Onion Rings

Ingredients

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp onion powder

1 cup buttermilk

1 tbsp Tabasco sauce

2 large brown onions, peeled and cut into 1cm-thick rings

1 cup plain flour

Vegetable oil, for frying

Method

■In a bowl, mix paprika, cayenne and onion powder. Set aside half the spice mix. Combine other half with buttermilk and Tabasco sauce. Add onion rings and press to coat. Marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

■Carefully place rings in hot oil. Fry until golden brown, turning to cook evenly and prevent sticking, about 3 minutes each batch. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Serve hot.

Chicken Souvlaki

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

For the pita:

1¼ cups lukewarm water

1½ tsp dry yeast

1½ tsp castor sugar

450g plain flour

½ tsp sea salt

½ cup olive oil, plus extra for brushing

For the chicken:

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1½ tsp chopped fresh oregano

2 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

4 garlic cloves, minced

500g boneless chicken thighs

For the tzatziki sauce:

½ cup plain Greek-style yoghurt

125g Greek-style feta cheese

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

1 Lebanese cucumber, seeded, coarsely grated and drained

Method

■For pita, mix water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl and leave in a warm spot for 20 minutes until mixture foams.

■In the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook, mix flour and salt. Add olive oil and yeast mix and combine, then mix until dough is smooth.

■Turn out onto a lightly floured bench, knead a few times then shape into a ball. Replace in bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for about 15-20 minutes.

■Meanwhile, marinate chicken. Combine lemon, oregano, oil, salt, garlic and chicken in a shallow bowl. Cover with cling film and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

■For tzatziki sauce, put yoghurt and feta in a bowl and blitz with a stick blender until smooth. Add lemon juice, garlic and blitz again. Add cucumber and stir through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

■Preheat barbecue or grill plate to medium heat.

■Divide dough into 12 and roll out into flat, thin, even discs about 16 centimetres across. Brush with olive oil and place on grill. Gently brush a little oil on top. Cook for 20 seconds or until bread puffs up, then turn over and cook for 20 seconds. Do not cook for too long or they will dry out and become crisp. When cooked, stack them on top of each other and wrap tightly in a clean tea towel to keep warm.

■Heat a grill pan to medium-high heat. Remove chicken from bowl (discard marinade) and cook for 8 minutes or until done, turning once. Rest on clean plate, then shred roughly into bite-size pieces. Place chicken in bread, top with tzatziki and serve with fresh salad.

Quick Steak Sandwich

Serves 4

Ingredients

600g eye fillet steak

4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing

2 red onions, thinly sliced

8 thick slices sourdough bread

150g baby spinach leaves

Salt and pepper

Good-quality chutney or relish

Method

■Thinly slice steak into 8 pieces. Set aside.

■Heat oil in a pan and cook onion until softened. Lower heat and continue to cook for about 10 minutes until onion starts to colour and get crunchy around the edges.

■Brush sourdough with a little oil and cook on a hot grill plate for a few minutes on either side, or toast it.

■Wilt spinach for a few minutes in a small non-stick pan (no need to add oil).

■Cook steak in a very hot pan with a little oil for about 30 seconds on either side. Season with salt and pepper and set aside, keeping warm.

■Pile wilted spinach on a slab of toast, top with two slices of steak and lashings of onions. Dollop with good-quality chutney and top with second slice of toast.